Expanding Mall Openings in the High-Growth Inland Regions of China

We opened AEON MALL Wuhan Jiangxia, our fourth mall in Hubei Province, on November 11, 2023. The mall features entertainment facilities for adults and children alike, as well as a variety of food experience zones. The mall also offers five themed atrium spaces and a rooftop park offering a basketball court, event space, a multi-purpose lawn area, and park space for a variety of other purposes, representing a space where customers of all ages can interact. We plan to open our first mall in Hunan Province, AEON MALL Changsha Xingsha (Changsha City, Hunan Province), in 2024, and a second mall, AEON MALL Changsha Xiang Jiang Xinqu (Changsha City, Hunan Province), in 2025. Hunan Province is located in central China, and Changsha City, the capital of Hunan Province, is experiencing strong economic growth. The population of the province increased by more than 3 million in the last 10 years. AEON MALL signed a comprehensive cooperation agreement with the Changsha Municipal People’s Government in May 2021, and we plan to continue opening new malls.

Securing New Properties in Vietnam

In December 2023, we signed new comprehensive memorandums of understanding on investment and business for shopping mall development in Vietnam with Can Tho City in the south and Bac Giang Province in the north.
In January 2024, we signed a memorandum of understanding with Viet Phat Group, a developer of shopping malls in Quang Ninh Province in the northern part of Vietnam. We added the central area (Da Nang City, Hue Province), Vietnam’s third largest economic zone, to our current southern area (Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong Province) and northern area (Hanoi City and Hai Phong City), accelerating area-dominant mall openings in surrounding cities. In the future, we intend to establish an even stronger foundation for business in Vietnam, expanding our businesses to regional cities to contribute to sustainable development and urban planning, which is experiencing remarkable economic growth.

Maximizing the Appeal of Brick-and-Mortar Malls Through Customer Experience (CX)

As consumer behavior and purchasing habits change at an accelerating pace, AEON MALL strives to improve our ability to attract customers by creating customer experiences (CX, customer experiential value) and maximizing the appeal of brick-and-mortar malls. As customer needs for open and comfortable outside zones increase, we incorporate mechanisms to appeal to the five senses for comfort and ease, striving to create facility environments that will become a place of relaxation for our customers.

THE OUTLETS SHONAN HIRATSUKA (April 2023)

THE OUTLETS SHONAN HIRATSUKA makes the most of its open-air environment, with planted landscapes throughout and an open space with green terrace seating in the center of the facility, creating a comfortable environment in which visitors enjoy shopping while strolling through the park-like setting. The event court is equipped with a large LED vision system boasting a 300-inch screen. Artificial turf has been laid over the court, creating a space for relaxation, sports viewing, and other entertainment events, not to mention opportunities to eat and drink while watching the events.

Improve Profitability Through the Effective Use of Existing Assets

To use existing assets more effectively, we plan to create new business areas based on the utilization rate of shops and parking lots in our malls, converting underutilized space into new value. We analyze the issues for each region and each property, taking a precise approach once we have clarified the objectives and what value to provide.

Laketown OUTLET Expansion and Renovation (March 2024)

The renovated mall features a new two-story building and 64 international brand and lifestyle brand stores between the new and old buildings, including 34 new stores. A new bridge connects to the Kaze building, improving circulation throughout the facility.

HANYU noNIWA New Concept Facility (October 2023)

AEON MALL Hanyu built a new park in the area to the west the building, which had been used as a flat parking lot. The outside facility features a large outdoor goods specialty store (first entry in the northern Kanto region), as well as a plaza with lawn and fountain. The mall plans to build an outside sauna, glamping facilities, and velamping facilities to create more private spaces that enhance the functions of the facility.

Diversify Value Offerings Tailored to the Market

The direction of mall development in the future calls for market analysis from various perspectives, based on which we will build new mall models across a variety of development patterns according to the characteristics of the location in question. In this way, we will develop malls capable of proposing new value.

JIYUGAOKA de aone (October 2023)

Renovating Existing Malls to Attract More Customers and Improve Profitability

We continue to replace specialty stores and revitalize malls with new comfortable spaces and environments in common areas.

AEON MALL Ota Expansion and Renovation (April 2024)

Implement Fundamental Business Structure Reforms

While we strive to deepen existing businesses amid accelerating changes in the external environment and in customer values, certain facilities have not responded to these changes sufficiently. The ability of these facilities to attract customers and generate cash flow has been in decline due to sluggish profitability. Create incentives to increase customers and time spent at the mall Motivated movement around the facility Increased specialty store sales Contributing Company Revenue and Profit We are engaged in increasing competitiveness and improving operational efficiencies within the market area, including investments in revitalization. In addition, we are also moving forward with initiatives aimed at fundamental structural reforms from the aspects of real estate and finances. By fiscal 2025, we intend to implement fundamental structural reforms at several malls. In fiscal 2024, we will record structural reform losses as an extraordinary loss of approximately ¥6 billion. Moving forward, we will implement fundamental business reforms designed to maximize future operating income.

Expanding Complex Development Functions

To expand our office complex development capabilities, we aim to co-create the future of living in communities through stronger collaborations with partner companies via equity investments and business alliances. We believe we can contribute to sustainable urban reconstruction, which is the objective of the Japanese government’s Location Optimization Plan. We also believe we can be part of building vibrant and compact, networked cities by guiding urban functions that include residential functions, medical care, welfare, commerce, and public transportation to urban centers. Driven by this belief, we pursue redevelopment and mixed-use office complex development projects in urban areas, creating the future of community living.

Capital and Business Alliance With Marimo Co., Ltd. (March 2023)

Creating New Businesses Through Investments in Startup Companies

AEON MALL launched a corporate venture capital (CVC) arm through which we will invest in startup companies. The Life Design Fund brings together cutting-edge technology and expertise from startup companies for new value, helping us take on the challenge of creating new business value through solutions for local issues and the advancement of mall operations. We invested in COUNTERWORKS Inc., orosy Co., Ltd. and ATOMica Co., Ltd. through the Life Design Fund (operated in partnership with Ignition Point Venture Partners). We combine the mutual expertise of AEON MALL and investee companies to leverage effective company assets (malls) in providing spaces more integrated with local communities and achieving community co-creation.

Develop Joint Delivery Services to Solve Logistics Issues

Sustainability Finance Initiatives

In November 2023, we formulated the Green Finance Framework to strengthen our efforts to achieve a decarbonized society and to truly integrated ESG management. We will use funds raised under the framework for new investments in qualified projects and the refinancing of existing ones. In addition to projects that focus on green buildings in Japan and overseas, for example, we are involved in creating local renewable energy for local consumption (”renewable energy,” below) by installing solar power generation facilities, purchasing CO2-free power sources derived from renewable energy, adopting EV charging and discharging facilities to build a renewable energy circulation platform with our customers, and the creation of biodiversity-conscious green spaces. We believe these initiatives are in line with the purpose of green finance and will have a positive impact on society.

Achieving Decarbonized Societies

Diversity Management